Sunset, Waxing 74%

The little garden had come along nicely. It had every reason to afterall; it was tended to with more than just soil and water. There was a proportionate amount of love and effort used as well. Despite the fact it had only been a short time already the first little spouts of green had peaked out of the ground on that cliff in Buburimu. Lyall had gone there every day since her passing to make sure nothing disturbed them and nothing had.

He took a moment to ponder how much things had changed since his first visit here to look for Loo. Lyall stood like a monument himself against the wavering shafts of light with his arms folded across his chest, his great axe holstered on his back and hanging at the ready. The first time he'd been here, he had just been wearing clothes.

"I... You can wear it. So you don't feel..." he offered as he blushed. Folded neatly in his hands was the stark blue of his national aketon and he was holding it out, almost like presenting the flag of his country to a worthy officer. She smiled when she took it, pulling it over her head.

He shook his head. No, that was wrong, he hadn't given it to her in Buburimu. She had taken the aketon later and he had given it to Briddy, not anyone else. This brought a shy smile to his lips; Did something in him deep down know the whole time? The entire reason he was here was because he had wanted to help her.

"This is a warrior's armor. It was given to those who were worthy of the title and I worked very hard to earn mine," she explained with a calculated patience to his questioning. She had a bit of a proud smirk as she said it, the toil of the exploration to unearth her garb playing inside of her mind.

That was right, this was where she had explained what that mysterious red armor had been. She showed him what a great axe was capable of when it knew its master. He thought she had been teasing.

"Just like everyone else! There's Lyall, the oblivious clod! Let's tease him and mock him and make fun! You're just like everyone else! I am not a fool! I am not an idiot!" He stomped his foot in defiance, turning to point with most of a fist and his eyes enraged.

That had been the gnole, and Lyall smiled to himself. He felt ashamed about it later, yelling at Briddy who had only meant well, but it had done wonders for him in the long run. He'd enrolled with Bastok as an envoy, finally becoming an adventurer like the rest of his new friends. He'd learned what he was capable in combat, and he'd learned that he just might be able to protect her afterall.

With his arms tucked into one another Lyall took another look down at the garden. It was meant for her, and he would continue to tend to it for as long as it needed him to, but there were other things he needed to tend to. This garden would survive because it had been created for Loo by the people who knew her and loved her. The seeds carried with them the hopes of them all, the only lasting gift he could offer for her wherever she was, but there were bigger things now.

If he wanted the other garden to survive, he would need to sow those seeds with patience and love, compassion and caring. The one in Buburimu would survive because it was hardy, the one waiting for him in Bastok would survive because both sides loved the other. Seikatsu had given him the advice to make sure he was doing it for the right reasons, and Lyall would make sure he was, or he wouldn't do it at all.